An open house where county residence can make suggestions on the Travis County Parks Comprehensive Plan will be held in Richard Moya Park on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Courtesy of Travis County Parks
Travis County Parks officials are asking residents to weigh in on a sweeping 10-year plan that will guide how the county preserves green space, builds trails and expands recreation opportunities across more than 13,000 acres of parkland.
An online survey is open through Oct. 23 for residents to share feedback on the Travis County Parks Comprehensive Plan, and residents can also attend one of two open houses on Saturday to review draft recommendations and share ideas. Sessions are scheduled at Northeast Metro Park from 10 a.m. to noon and at Richard Moya Park from 2 to 4 p.m.
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“This plan will shape the future of our Travis County parks, and we couldn’t be more excited to see the community’s voice at the center of it,” Joanna Wolaver, executive director of the Travis County Parks Foundation, said in a news release.
Building a roadmap through 2036
The plan will serve as a “vision for the parks up to 2036,” setting priorities for land acquisition, capital investments and future bond funding, according to Kari Spiegelhalter, a landscape architect with Mend Collaborative, the planning firm leading the project.
Spiegelhalter helped present the plan during a special Travis County Commissioners Court voting session Thursday — the first major update since 2016.
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She said the plan reflects nearly a year of public outreach that included more than 1,000 survey responses, virtual workshops and pop-up events across the county. “We went out to every single park,” Spiegelhalter told commissioners, describing site assessments and environmental, cultural and demographic analyses that informed the draft proposals.
What the draft plan proposes
The draft recommendations cover eight main areas:
Land management: restoring native landscapes, strengthening wildfire and drought resilience, and expanding ecological education.
Greenways and trails: completing four major corridors — Gilleland Creek, Onion Creek, Wilbarger Creek and the Colorado River Corridor — to form a 70-mile countywide network.
Operations and maintenance: improving ADA accessibility, modernizing amenities and creating workforce-retention and training programs.
Visitor experience: adding water-based recreation in eastern Travis County, new camping sites and adventure-sport areas.
History and culture: preserving historic resources and partnering with local schools and heritage groups for interpretive programming.
Programming and partnerships: expanding collaborations with nonprofits and agencies to enhance educational events and volunteer programs.
Park awareness: branding county parks as distinct from Austin city or state facilities and developing a mobile app with maps and alerts.
Public safety: increasing ranger patrols and emergency preparedness training.
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The county also plans several park-specific “vision plans” — updated versions of what were once called master plans — to guide upgrades, amenities and land use at individual sites.
Janet Coules, a planning project manager with Travis County Parks, said each plan will outline a park’s future design and needs and will be prioritized within the broader 10-year implementation schedule. Ongoing efforts include a new plan for Pace Bend Park, with others slated for Reimers Ranch, the Comanche Trail parks and RGK Ranch Park.
Community and court feedback
Commissioners praised the outreach effort and offered suggestions for refining the plan. Commissioner Margaret Gómez urged greater connection with youth organizations such as Scout troops and school programs to encourage outdoor participation. Commissioner Jeff Travillio suggested emphasizing historic African American cemeteries and using partnerships with local churches, radio stations and civic groups to deepen cultural engagement.
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Commissioner Ann Howard recommended adding “employment” under the park-awareness goal to highlight summer jobs and training opportunities for young people. She also called for clearer references to water conservation, given ongoing drought conditions.
County staff said public input from this final round of open houses and the online survey will directly influence which projects move forward first.
“What [residents] say does have a huge impact on us determining our priorities,” executive director of the Travis County Parks Foundation Joanna Wolaver said.
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What’s next
After community feedback closes Oct. 23, planners will finalize recommendations and draft an implementation plan that organizes projects in phases of roughly three, six, and 10 years. The full Travis County Parks Comprehensive Plan is expected to be completed in December and presented to the Commissioners Court for adoption in early 2026.